It didn't take too long for a pair of people to make it to the checkpoint, and they were smart too. Jacob had a hard time telling whether one of them was really tall or the other was really short, but the taller one was already holding a wad of rubles in hand, along with some vodka. Several bandits emerged to greet them and escort them into the administrative building, giving him a much better idea as to their numbers and firepower. Most of them had AK-74Us, making them inherently more dangerous than most bandits, and they also had numbers on their side. As the two got closer, more and more bandits revealed their locations. By the time they got to the building, nine bandits were in clear view.

Jacob would have taken out the two bandits that were immediately behind the two first, but he knew there would be a chance his rounds would over-penetrate and hit the hostages as well. He waited a little longer to see how the exchange went, keeping his finger on the trigger and his scope trained on the leader. He saw him nod to one of the bandits, just as the short stalker bolted and the tall one got shot in the back.

"СУКИ!" Jacob yelled, putting a bullet into the leader's head before opening up on the others. He managed to tag two more bandits before they turned their attention to Jacob, ignoring the short stalker as he made for cover. "Он там!" one of them yelled as the others turned towards the tree and began to pepper it with bullets. Jacob moved behind it, avoiding the frantic spray of lead. "Ешьте его, сука!" he heard one of them yell after a pause in the gunfire. He figured some were reloading and took the opportunity to peek out and take one down before suppressing the rest and making for another tree. [i]Four down, five to go,[/i] Jacob thought as he yanked the magazine out of his AK and replaced it with another. He knew the other stalker had a gun and had hoped they would have opened fire by now. The bandits would be in a crossfire, giving both of them an advantage.

Regardless, Jacob kept up the heat, leaning out to take out one more bandit before the rest opened fire on his position again. One of their rounds grazed his arm as he withdrew. He hissed and brought his other hand up to the wound as it began to bleed. It didn't bleed too badly, but it could lead to infection later on. Unfortunately, Jacob didn't have time to dig through his backpack for a bandage and some disinfectant. He sat behind the tree for a moment, trying to think of something he could do, some way to gain an advantage.